vog

Just had a look at some of his MDL/NJL scores, and they were inconsistent, but considering he only took up speedway last year, that is to be expected. Encouraging that he has beaten some of the bigger guns in the MDL/NJL (I've seen race wins against Danny Phillips, Tommy Fenwick and a few others) so it will be interesting to see how he progresses. Hopefully having a strong reserve with him should help.

And Rob Shuttleworth becomes the final member of the squad. Anyone got any ideas on him?

Having spent the majority of my speedway watching time at Stoke, the inside entry isn't used, and wasn't used when there was no hole on the infield! Stoke has always been a track where you tend to ride best in the middle to the outside of the track, with the only real exception being a cutback off bend 2/4. The issue with Stoke is in the preparation, because I would argue that it is one of the best shaped tracks in the country.

Doesn't apply to Stoke, none of our top 5 have PL or EL commitments.

Conversely, I remember a former rider saying that the track was at its best when stock cars were there as well! The Stoke track needs a qualified track man. Nothing more.

Happy with the signing of McBain, easily one of the better 3 pointers, and has an odd amount of PL experience for someone with very little NL experience!

Don't feel old! I'm only 25 and I remember Alan riding!

I don't know if it looks poor, but it does depend on the reserves. Widman signing leaves us with 6.61 for the final 2. If those two are, say Danny Phillips and Matt Williamson, then the team looks better, because the top 3 will score well, and the other 4 can improve. If however, we have 2 untried riders who struggle, the team will struggle.

Chris WIdman to Stoke. 3.50.

So, Chris Widman completes the top 5. Interesting, but it does worry me. Not sure he has ridden in the main body of a team before? Should have the benefit of riding with Ben Wilson, which could well help him though!

I was lucky enough to watch Liam develop at Stoke in 2012, and then see him ride for Buxton in 2013. The lad came on leaps and bounds, and while his gating wasn't always the best, he always gave everything. Personally, I think if he get's a 3.5 it will have been a fantastic season for him, because he wasn't always beating the top guys in the NL last season, but he will improve through the year, and will thrive at Berwick because of his style. Good luck to the lad!

And surely, if it helps James to resurrect his career, and his signing draws a few more in at Buxton, where is the harm? He has obvious experience that would be useful to any young rider, and he would be a good team member. I'm not sure why there is this belief that the NL should be for the sole purpose of training new riders. It has to be competitive, or it will fall flat. Having someone like James (Or indeed, Ben Wilson, or Adam Roynon when he was in the league) gives the riders coming through a gauge of where they are. You want to be able to beat the best in your own league, and if that is James Wright, then that makes the job a bit trickier, but it gives you an aim! I think it's academic, as I don't think James would ride NL, but even so, there is always a role for a rider like him in the NL.

James Wright is an interesting one, but I don't know if he would do NL. Smart has apparently signed for Plymouth. Branford would be a good shout if he is riding over here this year.

If they have signed all 6 (Not doubting, but obviously waiting until official) then that could be interesting. Smart isn't the rider he once was, and Reade is coming off a nasty injury last season. They would need a number 1 (Maybe Tim Webster?) but I guess for Plymouth the idea is to develop for their PL team!

Darn. Ah well. Still, I expect Buxton to put out a solid team, that will do alright at home. I'm assuming they sorted the air fence?

Enjoyed my trips to Buxton at the back end of last season. Unfortunately, I won't be there as often this season, but I hope they get a competitive team! I wouldn't be surprised if they lined up something like 1) Charles Wright 10.37 2) Liam Carr 6.87 3) Lee Smart 5.76 4) Gareth Isherwood 4.57 5) Luke Priest 4.75 6) Ryan Blacklock 4.43 7) Adam Extance 3 Riders who have a history with Buxton, so obviously don't mind the pay structure there, and would do a good job around Buxton.

Mimmo, please don't misunderstand, there are a lot of people who gave a lot of time and effort to help Stoke, and who were disappointed in the drop to the NL, but living within our financial means isn't the issue anymore. The unsavory things that are said are, in the whole, fully deserved. There are countless tales of fans being abused by the custodians of Stoke Speedway, and many fans have had enough. I was on the receiving end of a Tattum outburst a few seasons ago, and there are many others besides myself (I had the gall to tell the barmaid on Friday that Rusty Harrison hadn't ridden that night, and I wondered if he would ride the next day against Stoke) There are serious problems at Stoke, that go far beyond the team. We have a promotion that is so far removed from the fans, it is very much a case of paying your money and shutting up, or going to support someone else (Yes, that threat has been mentioned by our promotion as well) Stoke fans have taken a lot of abuse from the people in charge, and for years they put up with it because the racing was pretty good. The drop to the NL was the final straw for many, and you only need to look at the crowds now to know that they seem pretty unsustainable without the stock car involvement. They need new blood, but they will never sell (One half was asked how much they wanted for their half and they laughed it off. On another occasion they mentioned a 6 figure sum) and until they go, there will be a large proportion of the fan base who will refuse to go. To sum it up, the stark reality is two fold. 1) The promotion (And others) have never, in the 80 year history of Stoke, won a 7 man trophy. 2) The current promotion have lost the trust and respect of the vast majority of the current fans, be it through lack of interaction with the fan base, broken promises, failed customer service or just down right poor people skills. With the current owners, Stoke Speedway will continue in its slow decline. EDIT: On a team note, welcome Ben Wilson. Interesting that it leaves us with so few points for the bottom end, especially considering this will mean a couple of 4 pointers in the main body to start.

Stoke fans don't have much good to say about him either...

Interesting. Armstrong has never been my favourite rider after he spat his dummy many years ago riding for the Spitfires, and he had a down season last season, possibly down to a knee injury? Either way, if the passion is still there, the experience will come in handy. More interestingly in the press release, they said that they anticipated him riding at 5, which means there will be a higher averaged number 1? Given a 40 point limit, I'm guessing this means we won't be seeing Ben Reade back this year? Realistically, I think we will be looking at something like 1) New number 1 - 9.5 2) Lee Payne 4.90 3) Ben Hopwood 6.89 4) Luke Priest 4.75 5) Armstrong 7.93 6) 3 pointer 7) 3 pointer And in that, a lot would be riding on the 3 pointers and Priest/Payne!

Not really Hopwoods biggest fan, but good luck to him.

Stoke have many problems, and frankly they will never get sorted. All that we can hope for is that somehow we get a team capable of challenging, but I highly doubt it. I know Malcolm hates losing, but you get the feeling his hands are often tied. Crowds get lower season on season, with more and more people not going back due to the custodians and the hangers on. I'm finding it hard to get motivated for next season, especially having moved away from Stoke. I fear my visits will be less often than usual.

They had it in for the two semi-finals, but not for the final. Also, it contained the fantastic line "Loomer road stadium was built in 1973, and has been ever present at Loomer road ever since"

The program was inadequate. It is that simple. Even ignoring the typos and the sentences that made no sense, we were left with no scorecard for the final, and no space for a run off if it was needed. There was a short write up on each team, and that was about it. It smacked of not wanting to pay to have the extra pages put in to accommodate the score card.

I don't think you can compare putting 50 past Stoke to facing Dudley. They are stronger from 1-7. Much stronger. I was at least accurate with my Kent score prediction! Just didn't expect us to do as well with the TR usage!

Stoke won't hit 40. 53-39 to Kent.